PETRON ECOTOURISM DAY TRIP 24 October 2015

LOPO FALLS - END OF TREK

Faced with the current turmoils in the petroleum market, 37 staff from Petron decided to put off everything, at least for a day, and head off to the hills, literally.

Arriving at the promised time of 7.30 a.m. the started the day with a hearty good old fashion kampong breakfast, i.e. nasi lemak with teh tarik, fortifying themselves for the tasks ahead for the day. By 8.30 am everyone was loaded onto the cattle truck (oops!) for the first destination, jungle trekking. It never fails. The lorry ride is something which gets everyone squealing and shouting. I mean, if they are kids, I would expect that. But these are serious young executives who arrived in their fancy cars in the morning. But when they saw the Langat Express, our two lorries, the seriousness disappeared and they asked, "are we getting on that?". "Yep, I said, over here we do it our way". Immediately the serious executives become young boys and girls again. Ok, there were a couple of grey haired young boys too. And they were shouting all they way to the jungle. If it was a month ago, people would have mistaken them for human sacrifices of the Ide Festival.

LOADING UP FOR THE DAY

GROUP PHOTO WHILST EVERYONE IS STILL LOOKING GOOD

LOAD UP!

OFF TO THE MARKET

Anyway they conquered the trek with minimal problem and found the waterfall at the end of it. On the way they crossed 3 crystal clear streams. The trip up took 40 minutes. They way down also too took 40 minutes, which surprised me for while, because I thought going downhill should be easier and faster. Then I figured that it might be easier but not faster because you have to be careful as you descend. On they way down, Mat Brone, our local James Bond, should them a thing or two about how to survive in the jungle and to trap animals, to the "ooohhs" and "aahhs" of the captive audience.

Legend has it that the trail was once used by Communist Terrorists during the Malayan Emergency of the 1950's and 60's. Beginning from the foot of the Main Range there many routes which takes you into Pahang, Perak and Negri Sembilan. However never ever go in without a guide

AT THE ENTRANCE

From the jungle it was back to their fun ride, lorries again and off to the rafting point. The look on their faces was something to behold. I don't think they have seen so much bamboo in one place and some were seen trying to condition their minds very hard that they are getting into the crafts. After much shouting and confusing instructions, between the Peron staff, me, the Orang Asli, Orang Asli and the Headman and the lorry drivers (why were they involved?) everyone was nicely sorted out to their respective rafts and their attendant Orang Asli steerman.

GETTING SORTED OUT

WAITING FOR SAILING ORDERS

YES, WE ARRIVED IN ONE PIECE

So off they went. The Petron Armada was made up of 18 forty footer rafts. For some moments they looked like a bunch of Bugis pirates slipping up not so quietly up the Klang River with orange life jackets. Serious, minus the life jacket and with a bit of imagination you are transported back 300 years ago.

An hour later you see the rafts slowly appearing around the bend at the end of the journey with passengers either grinning from ear to ear or with drooping eyes as the rising sun and the easy motion of the rafts slowing lulled them into drowziness. And quite a few too were asking, "when is lunch, ahh?"

They got back at 12.30 pm with a kampong lunch laid out for them. No invitation required. Judging from the minimal leftovers the food must have met their expectations or they were just so hungry. But comments later confirmed the former.

It was a packed morning, but I think they had a good time. The schedule went almost like clockwork. Some commented that the jungle was wilder and less "manicured" than FRIM's (sorry FRIM), and of course for many it was a first time on the lorry, because many years ago when they asked their mother permission to ride, the standard answer was, "you mad ahh!, that one for carrying vegetables only, you know!". And of course the bamboo rafting was new to almost everyone and the traditional kampong lunch was the grand topping for the day.

We are glad to have been able to take their minds off the bothersome oil market for the day. Thank you guys. Come back again.

SACRIFICE - ID ADHA LIBYAN STYLE

Nine families of Libyan nationals staying in Malaysia decided to make Uluhati their village or kampong to celebrate Idil Adha, the festival of sacrifice. On the eve of the festivals 11 sheep arrived in the middle of the night for the next day celebration. Tied to the pillars of the Longhouse they settled down quite nicely for the night oblivious to the honor bestowed on them the following day.

THE PROVERBIAL SHEEP TO THE SLAUGHTER

 Its quite interesting to see how different cultures practice a common ritual. The Malays, Muslims that is, would proclaim "Allahuakbar" as they slaughter the animals. The Libyans treat it more matter of factly, non of the drama that we see usually. Also when it comes to skinning the animal, they would drive in a thin long rod at the inner hind leg. The rod is then taken out and in the hole is shoved in a rubber hose. Air is then blown into the rubber hose and you would actually see the sheep expanding like a balloon. I suppose this is to loosen the skin from the flesh for easier and cleaner skinning. Whilst we Malays would begin by skinning from the legs, they would start from the testicles. By the way sacrificial animal are normally male. They seemed to have a good time with lots of Libyan delicacies floating around and children running and squealing after the animals. As usual the chickens, goats and deer became nervous wrecks by the end of the day.

The Christians would have it that it was Issac the son Abraham (Peace be Upon them) who was commanded to be sacrificed. The Quran however says that it was Ismail (Ishmael), peace be upon him, who was supposed to be sacrificed. Issac was Abraham's son with his wife Sarah, whilst Ismail was the son from his Egyptian wife, Hagar or Siti Hajar.

From the lineage of Issac rose the Jewish prophets all the way to Jesus, may peace be upon him. From the Ismail lineage rose Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him.

This and many similarities in the narration of the Bible and the Quran is quite surprising to some people leading to charges of plagiarism of the Bible by the "author" of the Quran. The answer is quite simple. Of course, there will be similarities in the stories and the message of the Bible and the Quran, because if there is only one God, He would not have given different instructions, policies to different peoples at different times. The principles would be largely the same. Any amendments or changes that come from time to time does not alter the main theme, but provide additional guidance as man progresses in his development, not to mention to correct purposeful alterations done by man to suit certain agendas. This happens even today. That is why as an article of faith Muslims are supposed to believe in the revelations given to Moses (Musa), the Torah, David (Daud), the Zabur (Psalms), Jesus (Isa), the Bible and of course, Mohammad (Quran), May the blessings of Allah be upon them all.

It is interesting to note the inter-play between the Jewish peoples and the Egyptians. Confrontation or interplay between them occurred since the time Moses, Joseph (Yusuf) until present times, if we note that Prophet Muhammad pbuh is partly Egyptian in heritage.

Anyway the word sacrifice often times evoke in our minds some tribal ritual with either a virgin tied to a stake or a lost missionary simmering in a big cauldron being offered to some blood thirsty deity to ensure that next year's harvest remain as bountiful or the gazelles are just as numerous.

The Quran is quite clear on this. "It is not the blood nor the flesh of the sacrifice which reaches God, but the piety of the person". The word sacrifice in itself means giving up something dear to oneself. Giving up something worthless is no sacrifice at all.

So what does one get by giving away this precious thing? It is the undermining or subjugation of one's self or ego or selfishness. So it is actually a ritual of self purification. The Muslims belief that everyone is apportioned four qualities. Two of which pulls him to the ground and the other two elevates him to the stratosphere. The ones that pulls him to the ground are the bestial and satanic or devilish qualities or tendencies. The ones that uplift him to the higher plane is the angelic and Godly qualities.

So the challenge for everyone is to suppress and channel the two earthly qualities to the right channels and to promote the other two higher qualities. The final objective is nearness to God or Godliness or Enlightenment as the Hindus and Buddhist would describe it. It is an exercise of the extraction of the finest human qualities to qualify oneself as a human being.

Again we note similarities with Hinduism, which is not surprising at all. When God send down Adam and Eve to earth He gave them the assurance that from time to time He will send down guidance to Adam and his progeny, who in time will multiply into various races and tribes. In fact Muslims believe that altogether over 140,000 messengers were despatched. How that number was determined is beyond me, but perhaps the numbers alone are not important. What is important is that numerous delegations of reminders and warners of the key themes were sent. And the key themes will always be the same. God being all merciful would not leave His creatures unattended and He creates nothing in vain.

So sacrifice is one of the many ways of refining one's person. In a another verse, the Quran mentions that "one does not reach the stage of righteousness until one learns to give up what is dearest to him".

However sometimes we observe people competing to sacrifice as many heads of cattle as possible for the sake of recognition. Imam Bukhari has this to say: "True worship comes not from the act but from from the heart. The act is just an escort whilst the true worshiper is the heart". So Islam is dual faceted, the exsoteric and the esoteric, the external and the internal. The external (rituals) without the internal (the worship of the heart) is worthless whilst the internal without the external, mere profession of faith without actual deeds is delusional. Just as the declaration of love without the attendant care, concern, respect and fulfillment of responsibilities, is meaningless.

So there you are. The Haj sacrifice is not about pleasing some blood thirsty deity. It is about self purification. Same as any other act of worship, it is not for God but for oneself. God being Great does not need anyone to tell Him how great He is. "If all of mankind from the time of Adam till the end of time were to worship God, He is not made any greater and if all of mankind from the time of Adam till the end of times is to deny God, He is not made any lesser".

Salam Id Adha

BAMBOO RAFTING - UITM SHAH ALAM - 19.9.2015

Thirteen staff from UiTM Shah Alam took time out to chill out in Hulu Langat by taking a trip down the Langat River on bamboo rafts with the Suku Temuan Orang Asli tribe.

After the rafting trip they did some workshop for a couple of hours before adjourning for lunch. Being a half day event, they left after lunch.

Thank you UiTM

HONGKONG MOVIE SHOOT AT ULUHATI

AIMEE CHAN AND CHAP MUN TO, TWO LEADING HONGKONG ACTOR AND ACTRESS ON LOCATION AT ULUHATI

For 3 days and 2 nights ULUHATI was a hive of activities with a full fledged film crew, actors and actresses plus extras shooting a movie for a Hongkong production house.

Just to see them work was in itself tiring. Sets and equipment were moved from one end of the farm to another on continuous basis enough to make your head spin. After a while the stress of watching them was too much for me, so I took my siesta. This is the first time I saw a full film crew in action and I was truly impressed. Despite the hectic schedule no one seemed flustered and everyone seemed to know exactly what to do, at least from my novice perspective. Almost military in precision. The weather was great, except for the haze and one shower in late evening, but this did not dampen their spirit. In fact, the shooting finished a few hours ahead of schedule. 

This movie is meant for the Chinese New Year season 2016. For confidentiality reason I would say anything of its title and story-line.

And the best part of all, the left the place almost spotless when they were done. They said they were happy and satisfied. So am I. Thank you. Do come again

FAMILY CHILL OUT - PN NORZAKIAH & FAMILY

They actually came all the way from Trengganu for a wedding in Hulu Langat but decided for an extended stay just to chill out with family and friends. And that they did. Wedding aside they had their fair share of fun with horse rides and bamboo rafting.

PJ HASH GAWAI RUN 2015

13 JUNE 2015 : PJ HASH had their GAWAI RUN 2015 at Uluhati. A 7 to 8 km jungle trek had earlier been identified by their trailblazers a few weeks earlier, beginning and ending at Uluhati. About 100 runners turned up, we were told. The run began at about 4.30 with the last ones coming in just before sunset. I don't think the idea was to really compete against one another but more to enjoy the environment and the friendship of the gathering.

GAWAI is the harvest festival of the Borneo tribal community and it usually takes place in May/June each year. PJ Hash have a notable number of East Malaysians, so the run in May/June is called the GAWAI Run. The occasion is also used to show case their Borneo culture either in the form of food or dances. So we were lucky enough this time around to have a whole range of East Malaysian food from the various tribes as well as to see traditional dances.

For those unfamiliar, the Hash House was began by the expatriate community some time in the 60's or 70's. I don't think it began earlier than that because they would have been easy targets for the Communist Terrorists lurking in the jungles then. So it was an occasion of togetherness outside their regular meeting places at the same time getting to know more of the country, by what else but, running through it. Over the years the community expanded to include locals as well. Obviously the idea must be quite novel. Over time the idea spread to Hong Kong, India and many other old British Colonial outposts. So every now and then the Pak Cik's (Uncles) and Ah Soh's (Aunties) will be surprised by a long column of white men and women, muddied, huffing and puffing, sweating copiously from the dense and humid tropical heat, suddenly emerging from their vegetable patch or in between the rows of rubber trees. "Ahh, not to worry, a bunch of crazy Mat Sallehs again". (Malaysian version of Mad Dogs and Englishmen). "Must be their cure for acute home-sickness..Poor thing"

Anyway. We did not run with them. We just enjoyed their fabulous food and the show. Thank you PJ Hash for gracing us.

SWISS CONTINGENT MARKING THEIR PRESENCE

 

GETTING INTO THE RIGHT MIND FRAME - JUST DON'T FALL ASLEEP, YOU MIGHT MISS THE RUN

SOMEONE FOUND HIS PRIVATE CORNER - I THINK THIS ONE IS FROM THE USA JUDGING FROM THE ACCENT.

Setting up the accommodation and stage for the night. For a moment the above scenes looked like that of a jousting tournament.

ALL EXCITED AND RARING TO GO

OFF THEY GO

FAIR SARONG-CLAD MAIDEN (SORRY, YOUTH?) WELCOMING THE RUNNERS BACK

ASAM LAKSA? FOR REFRESHMENTS AFTER THE RUN

COMMUNAL FOOD PREPARATION

COOKING PASUA - CHICKEN IN BAMBOO

OUTDOOR COOKING

BORNEO FOOD GALORE, ALSO INDONESIAN

PUTTING SOME CULTURE INTO THE NIGHT

AND SOME LEVITY, THEIR VERSION OF THE HARD TIMES DURING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF BORNEO

AND SOME LIVE MUSIC

We think it was great.